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Phantom Gourmet: Frank's Steakhouse In Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) -- When it comes to legendary restaurants, few places still serve it up like Frank's Steakhouse.

Located on Mass Ave in Cambridge, Frank's is a landmark dining destination where generations of customers have come for a great meal and great deal.

"Obviously we're a steakhouse, but we're the steakhouse that you're not gonna spend your entire paycheck on," says owner George Ravanis. "Our food is just as good as any of those places in town, but you get a real good bang for your buck and a real good quality meal in here."

Frank's has been in business for eighty years, and for more than half that time, it's been owned by George Ravanis and his family.

"Frank's has been around since 1938," he says. "My dad bought the place in 1974. I guess it's considered old school, I don't want to say retro, but it's a lot wood, some brass, some more modern lighting which is nice. We've evolved over the years."

Frank's menu is filled with everything from pastas and seafood to burgers and wings.

Of course, most customers come for the steaks, which are priced from the high teens to the mid twenties--and that includes the sides.

"You're gonna get both sides, you're gonna get a salad and baked potato, I mean it's as basic as you can possible get, steak and baked potato," Ravanis says. "Most of the items on our menu come with two sides."

"Because it's a personal thing," he says. "I hate spending ten dollars for a baked potato when I go out. It's just that. And I can just imagine how our customers feel coming in here, and it's very gratifying when people shake their head when they leave here, and they thank us and they say, 'I can't believe you guys can do that.' And it's not hard to to, it just that you want to do it. You know we're not here to become multimillionaires, if that we're the case, we'd be closed by now. It's just, in my opinion, the way to run a business."

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.

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